The IIT-JEE reforms sought to be introduced by the human resources development ministry have sparked a national debate in India. While the HRD ministry states the new exam pattern is an attempt to curb students' over-dependence on coaching classes and to bring some respectability to the board exams, coaching classes and a section of students question the need for introducing the reforms in the middle of the academic year without prior warning.
This year, about 198,000 students appeared for 4,935 seats at the seven Institutes of Technology; the Institute of Technology-Banaras Hindu University; and the Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad.
In
the wake of these reforms, Professor V G Idichandy of IIT-Madras
discusses with Yogesh K Upadhyaya, the reasons for a change in the
IIT-Joint Entrance Examination pattern and the eligibility
criteria.
Prof V G
Idichandy, convener of STF was the chairman of JEE, IIT-Madras in
1999. He is currently a professor in the department of Ocean
Engineering at IIT-Madras and the dean of
students.
In February
2004, the directors of IITs decided to set up a special task force
to recommend reforms for the JEE. Prof Idichandy was the convener
of the Special Task Force. Being JEE chairmen at different times,
all the STF members were aware of the issues that needed to be
sorted out.
They collected
a lot of relevant information, had consultations and submitted a
report to the government. The present reforms for JEE were
deliberated upon at different levels and they represent the
collective efforts of all IITs. Excerpts from the
interview:
Could you explain the
changes proposed in IIT-JEE pattern and eligibility criteria for
appearing in the exam?
The decisions
approved by the ministry of human resource development
are:
- JEE will continue to be the sole
criterion for ranking the students for admission to IITs, IT-BHU,
ISM Dhanbad and other participating institutes.
- School results will be factored into the admission process for
the IITs. Only those students who secure a first class or
equivalent in the plus-2 examinations will be eligible for
admission to the IITs.
- For students belonging to SC/ST there will be a relaxation of 5
per cent of marks below the level of marks prescribed in the
respective examination.
- JEE will be a single objective type examination. The question
paper can include short write-up on a topic in physics, chemistry
or even mathematics followed by objective type questions that are
based on the write-up.
- A student can write the JEE in the year in which he/she passes
the XII standard examination and/or in the following year.
- Those who join any of the IITs, IT-BHU, and ISM Dhanbad through
JEE-2006 will not be permitted to appear for JEE in the
future.
- The procedure will be reviewed after JEE-2006. A one-time exception would be allowed for those who passed their qualifying examination in 2005 or earlier.
What prompted the
expert panel to change the pattern of exam, from two stages
(screening and main) to only one-step exam?
The committee
which suggested the screening test ('98 and '99, JEE committees)
recommended a review of the examination system after five years.
The screening test is a test of the aptitude of the student while
the main examination is a test of his/her analytical
ability.
We have
completed six JEEs after this system was introduced. The IIT system
is convinced that an objective type examination can be designed to
test both aptitude and analytical ability. Based on this the
special task force recommended a comprehensive objective test over
a two stage examination.
We must keep
in mind that clearing JEE is not an end in itself but it is meant
for the very limited purpose of selection of students to an
academic programme.
There is a restriction
on appearing for more than two times in the exam. There is also a
restriction on appearing again, if someone has secured a seat at
any of the seven IITs, IT-BHU, and ISM. Why?
The main reason for adopting these two measures is to provide a level playing field for candidates appearing for JEE. Now the JEE stipulates a first class in higher secondary school as the minimum eligibility requirement. Are we justified in allowing candidates with additional years of preparation to take the exam along with fresh students just out of the school?
The candidates
appearing two or three years after leaving the school get
additional time for JEE-specific preparations, have an altogether
different mindset and approach to life and
education, when compared to those
directly out from the schools.
Two or three
years of intensive preparation in specific subjects does not make
these candidates any wiser as the training is more to beat the
examination rather than for the pleasure of
learning.
More or less
the same reason is valid for those who have already joined the
IITs. In addition, they deny opportunity for others who would have
gained entry into one of the IITs.
There were protests in New Delhi and other cities. Why didn't they protest when the main exam-type pattern was changed to two-stage exam (main plus screening) exam in the year 2000?
In the last
six years, the IIT system has received much more visibility and
recognition. Many students and parents believe that an IIT degree
is a passport to success and fame. Those who prepare the students
for JEE at astronomical costs, exploit this attitude or
misconception to their advantage and would like a predictable,
easily recognizable pattern for JEE, and are scared of
changes.
I don't
believe that the stage-managed protests in some cities were done by
students. It does not require much research to identify those
behind the protesters. Just like any other unjustified protests,
agitation against changes in JEE has been instigated by people with
vested interests. The students and their
parents should realize the fact that there are equally good/better
opportunities outside the IIT system.
How will a two-tier
system help students?
The two-tier
JEE tests the aptitude of students for professional education
through a screening test and their analytical ability through the
main examination.
Many a time
the parents decide what their children should study. We have come
across students who get admission because of rigorous coaching.
Later, they struggle to complete the programme as they have no
aptitude for an engineering education. We feel that one way of
countering this situation is by allotting branches of study at the
end of second or third semester and not at the time of admission as
practiced today.
Such a
procedure will give the students enough time to study various
options available to them and choose the branch most suited to
their aptitude. I hope the IITs, in due course, will look at this
suggestion seriously.
On the requirement of
minimum 60 per cent marks in the XII board exam, critics argue that
different boards give marks in different ways. For instance, CBSE
is considered lenient in grading, while it is relatively difficult
to achieve first class in some boards, such as Uttar Pradesh and
Bihar. Also, one of the high school boards in eastern India
immediately announced the plan to grade the XII standard exam
liberally, so that no one from the state is denied admission to
IITs. How will you counter this?
Ideally,
normalized scores of the different boards should be used. With
about 40 school boards in our country, collecting results, arriving
at normalized scores, and above all, convincing the stakeholders of
different eligibility marks for different boards are all Herculean
tasks -- next to impossible, in fact -- considering the time factor
involved.
First class
(60 per cent) in a qualifying exam is much more simple, easily
understood and accepted.
Though the STF
recommended normalized scores, the Standing Committee of the IIT
Council (SCIC) which includes the directors of the IITs as members
decided on first class in higher secondary as minimum criteria and
we saw a lot more wisdom in that approach. Our aim was to give
adequate importance to school education in our country. We are
extremely happy that all the school boards whole-heartedly welcomed
the move.
Don't you think the
timing for the announcement of reforms was wrong, as many students
have already enrolled in coaching classes, and they are in the
middle of an academic year in high school?
IITs cannot
introduce reforms in JEE for the convenience of those in the
coaching classes. The invariant pattern of the entrance examination
of the premier institutions made possible the mushrooming of
coaching institutions. They grew because of the demand for quality
higher education, seats for which are too few in our
country.
Now it has
reached a stage where genuine students with raw intelligence and
aptitude armed with the knowledge gained in schools find it
difficult to compete and gain admission to the premier
institutions.
The main
target is the student presently in the XII standard or equivalent
ready to take an examination, irrespective of the pattern and with
all its surprises. Every year JEE is
announced in the month of September. This year was no exception.
Eligibility requirements and the type of examination are always
explained in the information brochure included along with the
application form.
It is reported that
over 95 per cent of the students who clear IIT-JEE, have joined
coaching classes. This is an unusually high number compared to
other national-level exams, such as AIEEE. Why there is a rush for
this exam? How will the new reforms help curb the coaching class
dependence for an IIT-JEE aspirant?
I have already
explained the reasons for the rush for JEE and the consequent
enrollment in coaching institutions. We are convinced that the
present reforms in JEE will reduce the necessity for additional
preparation.
IITs should be
allowed to conduct JEE 2006 with the present reforms to prove the
point. If the panic reactions witnessed in some cities where
coaching centres are concentrated are some indications, the IITs
have already won the first round!
Please tell us more
about IIT-JEE; when it was introduced and why it has an objective
format.
JEE has a long
history. It started in the early sixties and evolved through years.
There were changes of various sorts over the years. For instance,
English was a compulsory paper once upon a time. Later, English,
though compulsory, was not in the reckoning for deciding the
ranks.
Questions in
Hindi and an option for answering in Hindi and regional languages
were introduced during eighties. Objective type questions were a
part of the JEE for some time. Screening tests also went through
metamorphoses before the present pattern was adopted in the year
2000.
JEE is well
known for its credibility and the IITs consider JEE very sacred and
are very proud of its autonomy. IITs take extra care and
precautions to keep the credibility intact and the faith of the
general public and students in the JEE system notwithstanding the
incident in 1997 that shook the very foundations of
JEE.
But with the
strong support of the ministry of HRD, IITs outlived the threat and
restored all that was lost within a short time. The whole country
recognizes the independence of JEE and importance of IITs and that
is precisely why anything about IITs receives so much public
attention. This public audit makes us more responsible and to
perform better.
Don't you agree that
school education has faced a setback with students concentrating
more on how to crack the entrance tests?
Yes, school
education has become a big casualty, as there is no credit for
twelve years of schooling for admission to the institutions of
higher education, be it state-run or central. (Tamil Nadu is
perhaps the only state, where equal importance was given to both
school performance and entrance test for admission to professional
courses.
Though the TN
government announced admissions to professional courses based on
school results from 2005, because of the procedural issues, it was
not implemented).
Why should anyone take
school education seriously, when admissions to higher education is
based on one entrance test and the eligibility for admission to
national institutions is a just a pass in qualifying
examination?
Under such a
situation, it is but natural for a student to spent time preparing
for entrance examination rather than in the
school.
What changes do you
foresee once these reforms are
implemented?
The measures
recommended to reform JEE will pave the way for visible changes in
the attitudes of students to the school education. When JEE
questions are of the level of XII standard, students and parents
will realise the futility of going through the rigours of coaching
institutions and neglecting school education.
We also feel the rural students and girls will benefit from these reforms but only the future would tell how far we are justified in making these assumptions. Girls constitute only 8 per cent of the student population in IITs (IIT-Madras taken as reference). But school results show better performers are girls, so this could be the beginning of a new trend.
